Well, I think that's just silly. Here in the US, there has been a strong and consistent push for 'combination' departments. It's a fact that the number of fires are down. It makes sense in smaller communities or cities where you couldn't justify having a full time staff to do one or the other (Fire/EMS), but can do so when the roles are combined. Besides, there's a LOT more to being a Firefighter than just holding the end of a hose and squirting water.